An indispensable culinary herb, spearmint brings the best of mintís cooling, cleansing flavours to any dish. A culinary world traveler, spearmint is the most popular mint in Greek cooking, appearing in cheese dishes, lamb, tomatoes and rice, and many other world cuisines. A few leaves added to the pot sweetens and refreshes tea. To bring out spearmintís best, plant it in sun or part shade, in rich, moist soil. It has an extremely vigorous growth habit making it sometimes invasive, but mowing keeps it in check and besides... mowing a mint-encroached lawn is so pleasant when the fragrance of mint erupts -- so much so that one is tempted to let it run! The word "mint" derives from the Greek legend of a nymph named mintha who inspired the jealousy of a goddess and was transformed to a lowly plant with an exquisite scent, while "spear" derives from the plantís pointed leaves